Wednesday, December 17, 2014
EPF Statement Regarding Torture Report
The national office of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship has issued a statement concerning the recently released torture report. Read more...
Thursday, December 11, 2014
March for Justice this Saturday
We received this notice:
"The March for Justice will begin this Saturday, 1:00 p.m., at Jackson Park and, by sidewalk, move through town to Washington Park. The idea is to promote peacemaking, collaboration, communication, and sharing as well as helping folks to form a constructive response to the happenings in Ferguson, Cleveland, NYC, and other places in the U.S. They are asking marchers to show up at 12:30 p.m. in order to get introduced to one another and to explain the ground rules for the walk. There will be speakers at either end of the walk."
Members of the Dubuque-Area Episcopal Peace and Justice Fellowship will be attending.
"The March for Justice will begin this Saturday, 1:00 p.m., at Jackson Park and, by sidewalk, move through town to Washington Park. The idea is to promote peacemaking, collaboration, communication, and sharing as well as helping folks to form a constructive response to the happenings in Ferguson, Cleveland, NYC, and other places in the U.S. They are asking marchers to show up at 12:30 p.m. in order to get introduced to one another and to explain the ground rules for the walk. There will be speakers at either end of the walk."
Members of the Dubuque-Area Episcopal Peace and Justice Fellowship will be attending.
Monday, December 8, 2014
Demonstration in Washington Park: Today at 4pm
Members of the Dubuque-Area Episcopal Peace & Justice Fellowship will be joining Dubuque Peace & Justice and others in Washington Park at 4:00 pm today. The purpose of this social action is to stand in solidarity with those in other cities (e.g., New York) who are protesting what appears to be a trend of excessive use of force against black men.
This is a concern that has the potential to span the normal liberal-conservative political divide. As evidence of this, it is worth considering the words of Russell Moore, the conservative evangelical president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. His remarks on Eric Garner include the following:
"... a government that can choke a man to death on video for selling cigarettes is not a government living up to a biblical definition of justice or any recognizable definition of justice. ... It's time for us in Christian churches to not just talk about the gospel but live out the gospel by tearing down these dividing walls not only by learning and listening to one another but also by standing up and speaking out for one another." (Link)
And in relation to the Ferguson decision he remarked: "In the public arena, we ought to recognize that it is empirically true that African-American men are more likely, by virtually every measure, to be arrested, sentenced, executed, or murdered than their white peers. We cannot shrug that off with apathy." (Link)
This is a concern that has the potential to span the normal liberal-conservative political divide. As evidence of this, it is worth considering the words of Russell Moore, the conservative evangelical president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. His remarks on Eric Garner include the following:
"... a government that can choke a man to death on video for selling cigarettes is not a government living up to a biblical definition of justice or any recognizable definition of justice. ... It's time for us in Christian churches to not just talk about the gospel but live out the gospel by tearing down these dividing walls not only by learning and listening to one another but also by standing up and speaking out for one another." (Link)
And in relation to the Ferguson decision he remarked: "In the public arena, we ought to recognize that it is empirically true that African-American men are more likely, by virtually every measure, to be arrested, sentenced, executed, or murdered than their white peers. We cannot shrug that off with apathy." (Link)
Friday, December 5, 2014
Pastoral Letter from Bishop Scarfe
Please consider reading Bishop Scarfe's pastoral letter concerning the events in Ferguson, MO. Click here to read.
Meeting this Sunday
The Dubuque-Area Episcopal Peace & Justice Fellowship will be meeting this Sunday after church to discuss and begin pursuing a response to the ongoing national conversation and demonstrations concerning the use of lethal force against unarmed black men, such as Michael Brown and Eric Garner.
Monday, July 7, 2014
Episcopal Peace Fellowship (EPF) Press Release
Editor's Note: The following press release was issued by the Episcopal Peace Fellowship's national office. It does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the members of the Dubuque-Area Peace and Justice Fellowship.
The Episcopal Peace Fellowship (EPF) urges President Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress to refrain from any military involvement in the religious civil war developing in Iraq.
"Over two decades of war in Iraq has provided ample evidence war as a means to leverage influence in the area is a morally bankrupt policy to peace," said the Rev. Allison Liles, EPF executive director.
"The cost of almost 4,500 U.S. military deaths, thousands of wounded and maimed veterans and $1 trillion of national wealth that surely could have been more productively spent - in addition to the hundreds of thousands Iraqi deaths and those of other involved nations - as well as those whose lives have been tragically traumatized and disrupted is sufficient to say enough," said Rev. Liles.
"The political situation in Iraq is quickly deteriorating into a civil war between two Muslim factions. The insurgents are moving towards Baghdad in a vicious lightning campaign that has sadly seen early mass defections from Iraqi army. The recognized government of Iraq is calling for American lethal involvement to stem the potential overthrow of its current regime. It is clear that the conduct of the Al-Maliki government is a significant part of the problem," she said. In response to the call for help, President Obama has sent a force up to 300 American military advisors to be embedded with Iraqi troops to assist them to repel the insurgents. U.S. airstrikes may be forthcoming.
"Iraq is a sovereign nation that must solve its own internal political affairs without the intervention of any outside entity. To reengage the U.S. military in any capacity is foolhardy. While recognizing the danger to human rights and respectful and peaceful civic dialogue embedded in a fundamentalist Sharia-imposed governing structure, war is not the answer to real peace. Further military action could have long term negative effects on America's already frayed relationships with other Middle Eastern countries," said Rev. Liles.
"We hope and pray Secretary of State John Kerry who has been increasingly in Iraq can negotiate a peaceful settlement to the war. U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power should urge the UN Security Council to garner multi-national help in securing a negotiated settlement as well," said Rev. Liles.
* * *
"Over two decades of war in Iraq has provided ample evidence war as a means to leverage influence in the area is a morally bankrupt policy to peace," said the Rev. Allison Liles, EPF executive director.
"The cost of almost 4,500 U.S. military deaths, thousands of wounded and maimed veterans and $1 trillion of national wealth that surely could have been more productively spent - in addition to the hundreds of thousands Iraqi deaths and those of other involved nations - as well as those whose lives have been tragically traumatized and disrupted is sufficient to say enough," said Rev. Liles.
"The political situation in Iraq is quickly deteriorating into a civil war between two Muslim factions. The insurgents are moving towards Baghdad in a vicious lightning campaign that has sadly seen early mass defections from Iraqi army. The recognized government of Iraq is calling for American lethal involvement to stem the potential overthrow of its current regime. It is clear that the conduct of the Al-Maliki government is a significant part of the problem," she said. In response to the call for help, President Obama has sent a force up to 300 American military advisors to be embedded with Iraqi troops to assist them to repel the insurgents. U.S. airstrikes may be forthcoming.
"Iraq is a sovereign nation that must solve its own internal political affairs without the intervention of any outside entity. To reengage the U.S. military in any capacity is foolhardy. While recognizing the danger to human rights and respectful and peaceful civic dialogue embedded in a fundamentalist Sharia-imposed governing structure, war is not the answer to real peace. Further military action could have long term negative effects on America's already frayed relationships with other Middle Eastern countries," said Rev. Liles.
"We hope and pray Secretary of State John Kerry who has been increasingly in Iraq can negotiate a peaceful settlement to the war. U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power should urge the UN Security Council to garner multi-national help in securing a negotiated settlement as well," said Rev. Liles.
July Meeting: Tomorrow
The Dubuque-Area Peace and Justice Fellowship will meet tomorrow, July 8, at 6:45 PM in the St. John's Parish House library. Haley has volunteered to watch the children during the meeting; she will prepare a brief peace and justice activity/lesson for the pre-school and elementary school kids to engage in, and she will babysit the little ones.
New business includes the following:
New business includes the following:
- Discuss recent unrest in Iraq and the Episcopal Peace Fellowship's response. If you have thoughts, questions, or comments, please share them. Chris has some thoughts stemming from an article he read by the theologian Stanley Hauerwas, which are relevant. For those looking for background information, the New York Magazine has what appears to be a decent primer on ISIS, which is available at http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/06/what-is-Isis-Iraq-explainer.html, and David Corn at Mother Jones has a short piece titled, “7 Talking Points You Need for Discussing the Iraq Crisis,” available at http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/06/talking-points-iraq-crisis. The Episcopal Peace Fellowship's recent statement has been reposted on our blog, since their website is currently not working.
- Updates concerning local and regional peace and justice organizations and issues. If you have a topic or issue to discuss, please come prepared to share.
- Establish a childcare rotation during our meetings, and discuss possible topics and activities that the kids might engage in.
- Introduce a common reading from the book, Parenting for Peace and Justice: Ten Years Later. Those who are interested will read a brief selection in preparation for our August meeting. Chris will hand out copies.
- Approval of the July "Saints" brochure. This month, we profile Iowa transplant, Amelia Jenks Bloomer; she shares a July 20 feast day with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Ross Tubman.
- Rev. Kathleen's idea of opening the St. John's undercroft once or twice a week during the winter to provide hospitality to those who are homeless, and perhaps staying at shelters that are closed during the daytime.
- Information from the Dubuque Human Rights Commission about local needs and partnership opportunities.
- Various ideas have been floated about possible workshops or action-items which we could get involved in. We will review these ideas and determine whether there is any interest in pursuing them further. Among the ideas that have been floated include the following: (1) Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement is willing and able to put on a workers’ rights clinic and/or a social security information session. (2) Ban the Box is a campaign to use city ordinances or state legislation to remove the question, “Have you ever been convicted of a crime?” from employment applications. It seeks to give people with past convictions a fair chance at meaningful employment. It does not prevent employers from discriminating on the basis of past convictions, but it does prevent them from using this as a screen for potential employees. For more information see http://bantheboxcampaign.org/. Other ideas are welcome!
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